When You Wish Upon a Star
by Nibi-Nekomata
Summary: Amelia is your normal teenage girl. She reads a little manga before bed, makes a silly little wish...it's a shame that she ends up with the wish coming true. The question stands, though: where are her parents! OC is main character, set in present day United States. Spoilers possible. Humor intended. You've been warned.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Nibi-Nekomata is an eighteen year old American girl - she does not own Naruto, never has, and never will. This is a purely fictional story. Amelia is her own OC, however, and is based upon her vaguely. Any likeness to other persons living or dead or fictitious is purely coincidental and no copyright infringement is intended. Thank you! See you at the bottom, ladies and gentlemen!

**Stars & Manga Fueled Nightmares**

"Just slit his throat!" The female wailed softly, staring at the screen and frowning. She clicked to the next page and then flopped backward. "Nooo~" It was over until next week. Padding to her window, she flicked up the blind, peering out into the darkness. Her eyes caught sight of a star, and she didn't hesitate. "Starlight, star bright, first star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, have this wish, I wish tonight. I wish with all of my heart that somehow, someway, I could either end up in their world, or they in mine," and with that she flipped down the blind and crawled into bed, snuggling into the blankets and falling asleep.

"Get off of me!" Her eyes snapped open and her head snapped up. Did she not know that voice? Did she not _hate_ that voice?

"I will when Gaara gets off of _me_," was the growled response. She shut her eyes again, holding them there tightly as she listened to the shifting about. Her dogs did not even bark.

"Where are we?" Her eyes flew open again and her heart started pounding in her chest. She was staring at her wall, head on her arm, and panic was welling up in her.

"Hey! Get up!" She rolled over; eyes shut again, and then opened one eye nervously. Yep. That was the creepy one. And the spiky one. And the one she wanted to hate but couldn't now. And all five Kages. And...

"Why is my room filled with hot shirtless men and their girlfriends?" She spoke calmly and innocently, blinking her eyes. Really, she couldn't believe that these people were standing there. But she was also amused to see how most of them double checked that they had on shirts, and the creepy one (who was a lot more creepy when he was about three inches from your bed) crossed his arms over his chest rather self consciously.

"Let's try this again," the oldest woman in the group said, though she certainly did not _appear _old, "where are we," her eyes flashed.

"Ri-ight. I wake up, in my own bedroom, to a bunch of people in it, and I'm expected to just jump and tell you that you're in the United States of America, in a certain state, in a certain county, in a certain city, in a certain house. Yeah. Right," she figured she was pushing her luck, but judging by the fact that she could see no weapons (she was greatly thankful for this), she wasn't entirely concerned. Yet.

"You'd better tell us where we are, or you're going to find yourself in pain. Quickly," the spiky one was glowering at her, and she half expected to be swept into one of those fantastic Genjutsu's. A look of confusion crossed his face.

"Oh! You were actually trying...well now isn't this awkward," her voice was honey pleasant. She had no reason not to be pleasant. Those of whom she fangirled over (aside from the Kazekage) weren't in the room. They were dead. That was the advantage of fangirling over the villains. "I'm so glad that none of you are armed...I've got a strange, sinking feeling I'd be dead if you were," she rolled off of her bed, skirting creepy and spiky as she slipped through the rather large group to her door.

You see, her room wasn't really that big. And to have all five Kages, plus spiky, the one she wanted to hate but couldn't, and creepy in her room, meant she had very little room to maneuver. But she did make it to her door, and when she opened it she almost wished she hadn't.

The highly annoying one almost fell into her. "Hey! Who are you?! We were just fighting...what exactly happened?" She wasn't a fangirl of him, but those blue eyes had her caught for a moment. Once she managed to steady herself mentally (and physically by swinging on her door for a moment) she gathered her snappy/witty reply.

"I'm pretty sure that you're in my house, but you shouldn't be," she darted to the living room, glad to see that there was no damage done. In fact, it appeared that there weren't as many as she had first thought. Just the three "main" bodies of the war. She was silently thankful for that.

"You're about as helpful as the walls," came the reply from the black haired male who had actually left the room, and the annoying blond one.

"The walls are more helpful?" A brief look of hurt crossed her face. The male flipped his eyes up to the sky and she knew exactly what he was thinking. "Nope! He won't grant you the patience to not kill me. That's aaaaaaall on you now," she saw the nerve twitch, but her smile never left her lips. He couldn't touch her!

Green eyes shot open in the darkness of the bedroom. "I really don't need to read manga right before bed," the female muttered, shaking her head.

"Read what?" She started, eyes sweeping around her room. She reached over and grabbed the roll of nickels she kept on her nightstand, wrapping her hand into a tight fist around the roll.

"Who's there?" Her voice dropped and she tensed up. Neither dog made a sound.

"That depends," a second voice replied. She let out a frustrated growl and sat all the way up, rocking forward to grab the light switch.

"Don't," the voice was cold and calm, and the cold hand that grabbed her wrist made her freeze in place. She repressed a shiver.

"You're all supposed to be dead...I didn't wish for _you_...though..." she smiled slightly in the dark. This _was_ better than that manga fueled 'nightmare' that she'd been having.

"Though?" Prodded a fourth voice.

"Oh, nothing...just had a lovely nightmare..."

"Wait...how do you know we're supposed to be dead? Who are you, yeah?" She flopped back into her pillow, eyes focusing now in the darkness.

"Manga fueled nightmares," she sighed, shaking her head. "Wishes on stars don't come true. And if they did, it wouldn't be so calm in here," she shut her eyes and felt someone seat themselves next to her on her bed. She wiggled sideways. "Manga fueled nightmares; wishes on stars don't come true, and even if they did, it wouldn't be so calm in here," she spoke with conviction, but the weight didn't move. "Or there's some creepy guy in my room who's going to kill me that the dogs don't care about. That works too," she opened her eyes into the darkness again, reaching out and latching onto the arm of the person sitting next to her, pulling herself up. "Who are you?" She questioned.

"Answer that question yourself, first," she shrank back, not liking the voice.

"Fine, I'm Amelia. Now who are you?" She waited. The silence ticked on. The green light of the clock showed the cloak and the hand resting on the bed. "Are you even really here? Or have I finally lost my mind?" She waited again, and the silence drew on. "Anyone?" She attempted, peering around her dark room. The dog at the foot of the bed stretched and stood up, jumping off and onto the floor. "I'm going back to sleep now," Amelia finally stated, dropping back onto her pillow.

"Just answer her, yeah..." she had closed her eyes, and now she opened one, peering at the person the edge of her bed with renewed interest.

"How much will you pay to learn my name?"

"I already know your name. All of your names. Nagato, are you in here too?" She said it oddly, and she knew that she had mispronounced it. She dropped her head and huffed. "If I ever pronounce anything right..." she rolled her eyes and the male next to her snorted. "Oh, shut up, Kakuzu," she knew she had that one right. The head jerking around told her that.

"How did-"

"I told you, manga fueled nightmares. I'm moving to my computer now to show you," she moved down her bed and found her chair, making someone (she thought probably Deidara) jump.

"Manga fueled nightmares, and yet you cannot pronounce my name?" Amelia sighed.

"Look, I've got either subbed or dubbed, and whenever Naruto says your name, it's usually in the middle of something exploding," she frowned, leaning forward and flipping on the TV monitor. She had been expecting the bodies that were shown in the manga as Kabuto had resurrected them. Nope! Amelia's expression shifted from 'la-de-da' to her eyes being wide and her mouth having opened slightly.

She jerked her head back to her computer screen/TV and shook the mouse, dispelling the screen saver. With the internet already pulled up, it only took a few quick strokes of the keys to find what she was looking for. "See. Manga fueled nightmares," she sat back in her chair, leaning it against the foot of her bed.

"We're not real?" Itachi even sounded slightly amused.

"Well, you're standing in my bedroom right now...so I'm assuming that you're at least kind of real..." the strawberry blonde bit her lip slightly, uncertain now. "None of you have any weapons on you, right?" Five sets of eyes landed on her. She inched back in her chair. "I just don't want to crawl back in bed and have a kunai in my back, is all," she held her hands up, green eyes widening.

"We won't kill you," Nagato assured, patting the girl on her head.

"Thank goodness. I don't think my mother would be very pleased to discover...never mind," she stopped, realizing that her mother would not be very pleased to discover five grown (well...) men in her teenage daughter's bedroom.

"If you're going to crawl back in your bed...where do you expect us to go, hmm?" She looked at Deidara with her head to one side.

"I expect the five of you to sleep outside, actually. Preferably behind the barn where you can't be seen. My mother will have a duck if she sees you in here," she smiled angelically and then stood up, opening the door. "Out. Now. I mean it."

"You're joking," Kakuzu deadpanned, staring at her.

"Not in the slightest. You're God only knows how old, you're twenty something, you're nineteen, you're God only know how old...but I'm guessing about thirty something...and you...you're a puppet!" She threw her hands up off of the door and then pointed out of it again. "Now go, before my parents wake up and hear me talking," the five of them continued to stare at her. "I won't leave you behind the barn like a bunch of abandoned alley cats, I promise. If I do, you can stone me," she couldn't say it with a straight face. Her mouth twitched slightly at the corners as she fought not to smile.

"I'd rather rob you," Kakuzu muttered.

"I'm broke," was the quick, less than witty reply. She ushered the five out her back door and pointed out the barn before shutting and locking the door (again) and trotting back to her room. "I'm going to regret this if this isn't a dream..." she flopped back in bed and curled up, falling back asleep.

**A/N:** And to think, this isn't even supposed to be chapter one! :D So, I actually read the manga tonight and am now officially caught up with the plot. It's a miracle! I no longer hate Sasuke, despise Danzou, think Kabuto's a freak - more so than usual - and am very much pleased with how things are going. Though that first sentence is what I've been saying to Sasuke since Itachi started talking about releasing the Impure Resurrection Technique.  
_Word Count: _1,879  
Time: Approximately three hours.


	2. Chapter One

Disclaimer: Nibi-Nekomata is an eighteen year old American girl - she does not own Naruto, never has, and never will. This is a purely fictional story. Amelia is her own OC, however, and is based upon her vaguely. Any likeness to other persons living or dead or fictitious is purely coincidental and no copyright infringement is intended. Thank you! See you at the bottom, ladies and gentlemen!  
Nibi-Nekomata also does not own Kelly Clarkson's song You Found Me, which is used in this chapter. If she did she'd be rich and very happy. Alas.

**Was it All a Dream?**

Amelia opened her eyes to bright daylight streaming into her room. She rolled over, looking at the lime green digital clock. It was nine thirty in the morning. She flopped back over, looking up at the ceiling and frowning. She had the weirdest dreams the previous night. They had to be dreams.

"There's no way I'm currently harboring three criminals and two very misunderstood men. Just no way," she stared at her ceiling a moment longer, mulling it over. One way to find out.

The strawberry blonde dressed quickly, pulling on a pair of shirts and a t-shirt at random. Slipping on her flip flops, she took both of her little dogs out into the backyard before going back to her room and grabbing her iPod. "Best to make this believable," she muttered.

When she stepped back out, her mother looked away from the PS3, raising an eyebrow. "Going outside so early?"

"Before it gets too hot," came the ready reply. Amelia relaxed once she was out the door. She sidled along the edge of the house and then bolted to the opening in the fence, darting back to the barn. She pulled up at the fence, sliding into it and leaning against it. The fence gave slightly, threatening to dump her over it. "Anybody back there?" Was what she finally trilled. She expected silence, and at first wasn't surprised. She stepped back from the fence, relaxing and smiling, reassured that she'd been dreaming.

"No, just the alley cats," came the drawled response. Her heart jumped and her green eyes flew wide.

"So it wasn't a dream?" She questioned, moving back to the fence. The red haired male came around, brown eyes watching her. The blond came around as well, shaking his head.

"You're not so lucky. Or...maybe you're not so unlucky?" The older male flashed a cocky smile at Amelia and her eyes narrowed slightly.

"Jail bait," she said, flicking a strand of her hair out of her face.

"Am not," he responded, looking slightly offended.

"I am," she trilled again, turning away from the fence. "Now if you're all hungry, you're out of luck. Mom will notice if food for five grown men disappears from the pantry. You'll...actually, never mind. I won't suggest that," the female started walking again, heading toward the bench swing.

"And just where do you think you're going? I thought you weren't leaving us out like alley cats, hmm!" Deidara called after her, and she paused for a moment, turning and putting one hand on her hip and lifting an eyebrow.

"I made sure you all survived the night," she blinked innocently. "I don't think I ever said I was going to take care of you," she scoffed, putting her ear buds in her ears and turning on her music. She managed to drown them out until Deidara came stalking up to the swing and stopped it, almost knocking her onto the ground. "Excuse me," she said, looking up at the blond.

"Yeah, excuse you. You're expecting us to fend for ourselves, wherever we are?" Amelia blinked and nodded her head.

"Well, yeah. What else? You're all grown men," she spoke in a lot less 'holier than thou' tone now. It was starting to sink in that this was really happening. These five were here, and she was going to have no choice but to turn them away.

"You could at least tell us where we are," Itachi had slipped around so he was behind her, and Amelia went rigid. It was creepy how he could do that. Not as creepy as Kabuto and his snaky self, but it was still creepy.

"I could. You're in America. North America. In the southern part of the United States. Bible belt, as it's often called. Currently you're in a small backwoods town. I'd advise getting out of here, ditching the cloaks, and hoping li-li..." Deidara had decided to take her literally and had pulled his cloak off when she had said it. Now the girl couldn't keep going, even though he was still wearing his mesh shirt beneath.

"No one wants to see you shirtless, brat," Sasori grumbled.

"Well apparently...just look at her face," Amelia's mouth was moving, but no sound was coming out now.

"I think she's disgusted," Kakuzu said. It appeared that the only two who weren't jumping in were the 'sane' ones: Nagato and Itachi. Amelia's inner fangirl started to work herself up, and the female shut her eyes, counting to ten.

"Please put your cloak back on. You can take it off once you have a real shirt to put on. Hoping like heck you can get a job and money," she bit her lip after she'd said that, eyes still shut.

"So...you want us gone?" Nagato spoke from behind her as well.

"N...no...I need you gone...I can't hide...grown men," she swallowed, heart fluttering slightly, "in my backyard...s...s'wrong on so-oh many levels," she inhaled slowly, catching herself. They weren't real, this was a really twisted, horrible, terrible dream. She put her ear buds back in, telling herself that when she opened her eyes at the end of the song that they'd be gone. Had to be gone.

"Is this a dream, if it is, please don't wake me from this height. I'd become, comfortably numb, until you opened my eyes; to what's it's like, when everything's right, I can't believe: You found me when no one else was looking," she waited until the last note of the song had faded out before opening her eyes. Empty space. She exhaled a breath she hadn't known she was holding and shifted onto her back, looking up through the leaves and branches at the sky.

"It all had to be a dream, and you know it," she mused softly. She flipped to another song, watching the leaves rustle. "Just a horrible, horrible sweet dream..." she paused the song, still looking up at the sky. "But I'm fully awake," she breathed. And then she bolted directly upright. She was fully awake. They were real. And she'd just sent them off. "What have I just unleashed on this town?" She hissed, jumping up from the bench swing and darting toward the road, panic lancing through her heart. She inhaled to yell for one of them only to hear a snort from behind her.

"You think we'd really leave?" She wheeled around and rushed back at the blond, tackling him and locking her arms around his neck.

"I was hoping yes, and then I realized that this isn't a dream. So no. Please don't. It'd be bad. Very bad. And-and-...I don't want to have to explain that stupid star deciding it wanted to grant me a wish now," she was very much aware that the man she had just pounced on was two years older than her and looked like a girl. She was also aware that if her mother came out to get her she'd be dead before she could release the boy. But that was alright. Because she wasn't dreaming.

That was both a relief and a disaster waiting to happen, she would later discover.

**A/N:** Chapter one! Not nearly as long as that prologue, no? Well I'd sure hope not. That prologue was death on writing.  
_Word Count:_ 1179  
Time: A little over two hours.


	3. Chapter Two

Disclaimer: Nibi-Nekomata is an eighteen year old American girl - she does not own Naruto, never has, and never will. This is a purely fictional story. Amelia is her own OC, however, and is based upon her vaguely. Any likeness to other persons living or dead or fictitious is purely coincidental and no copyright infringement is intended. Thank you! See you at the bottom, ladies and gentlemen!  
Oh, and Law and Order: SVU does not belong to me either. I just watch it avidly.

**Needs Less Shirts**

"OW!" Amelia winced when the hot water hit her back. The bruise was 'not that bad' according to Itachi, who she currently trusted the most out of the five, but it still hurt when the shower head began to spit water onto it. The female's eyes watered as she gingerly washed her back, trying to ignore the fact that she was going to have to lay on it. "My fault," she muttered.

The house was currently empty save for her and the five men. This was a very, _very_ good thing for obvious reasons. One, the five men were in the house, and two, Amelia was yelling and cursing. Loudly now, in fact, seeing as even when she turned the water to cold it felt like little knives hitting her.

"I'm sorry Amelia-chan, hmm!" Deidara yelled through the door for what must have been the tenth time.

"Then make it not hurt!" She whined cutting of the water and stepping out of the shower. There was no blood, thankfully. But being tossed about halfway across the yard and _bouncing_ before coming to a stop on a rock, did tend to leave one's back in poor shape.

"Let me see it, Amelia."

"Don't let him in, yeah!" Amelia frowned at the door. It was currently locked, but really, how long would _that_ last if any of them got it into their mind to open it?

"Let me get dressed," she stated. Once at least in her shorts and under garments, she allowed the door to come unlocked and Sasori to view the injury.

"I've done worse to people," he stated, cool fingers skating across Amelia's back. She shivered, goosebumps crossing her skin. When he spoke up again, she could hear the smirk in his voice. "I can probably clean it up. It doesn't appear that our chakra was depleted," that sounded dangerous Amelia's ears. But explained being thrown halfway across the yard a lot better.

"Oh joy...so you could all still kill me in my sleep," she was standing with her head lowered and her t-shirt around her neck. The bathroom door was safely shut and locked again, much to Deidara's chagrin. She actually enjoyed the fact that he wasn't happy about hurting her. 'And to think, they should be just as freaked out as I currently am,' she mused to herself, looking at her tiled floor.

"This might hurt," again she could hear the smirk. She shut her eyes tightly and felt something like warm water flowing down her back. Not sharp little spikes of warm water pelting her back like in the shower, either.

"I thought you said this might hurt..." Amelia spoke in a forlorn manner, half expecting the puppet to do something that _would_ hurt.

"It didn't?" He sounded slightly amused now. Or at least as amused as Sasori ever sounded. Which just meant he didn't sound highly annoyed. "What a shame."

"You've been smirking this entire time, haven't you," Amelia didn't ask it, she stated it.

"What if I have?"

"You're a jerk," Amelia dropped her head again. But her back didn't hurt.

"I'm a jerk who just saved you a lot of awkward questions from your parents," he reminded her. "Now put your shirt on so I don't have to look at that scar."

"WHAT?!" Amelia whirled around. The door opened at the same time. Deidara's eyes widened and then he snapped them shut fumbling for the door knob. Right. Her shirt was hanging around her neck and she was... "If you couldn't kill me in a heartbeat, I'd rip your throat out!" She yelled, though the threat was useless and she knew it.

Amelia jammed her shirt on (her back was not scared and Sasori was being called a lot of foul words) and stalked out of the bathroom, eye twitching. "What's with all the steam?" Kakuzu questioned, definitely sounding like he was probably thisclose to laughing. Somehow it didn't surprise Amelia.

"I thought it was Hidan who made all of the perverted jokes," the girl snapped, eyes locked onto the puppet lounging on the couch with Itachi.

"It is," the man drawled. "But he's not here, and someone has to pick up the slack," Nagato stepped in from the dining room, raising an eyebrow at the green eyed female who was stalking toward the couch.

"Amelia? What are you intending to do?"

The girl shot up and around, smiling brightly and sweetly. "Going to watch TV, why?" He wasn't buying it. "Okay, fine, I was going to strangle Sasori-san with my bare hands," the look on Nagato's face said that she still hadn't explained enough. "He told me my back was scared, and then opened the door, and Deidara saw me topless," she turned around, cheeks flushing.

"And we missed it?" If someone would have told her at any point in time that Nagato had a sense of humor, she probably would have laughed at the person and told them it was their wildest dream. Now, however, she knew better. And it made her eye twitch.

"Perverted. Old. Men," she slipped around the couch on Itachi's side and flopped down between him and Sasori, curling her legs up under her. Her parents were gone, out to some party or some such nonsense. She had been forced to limp around the house and act like she was fine from about ten that morning to six that evening. And it was far from fun. "I suppose I should in theory thank you for making sure I didn't have to explain why I wasn't wanting to sit with my back on anything," she muttered to Sasori. He shrugged, eyes not moving from Law & Order: SVU. Amelia shook her head. "Take notes, boys," she stood up and sauntered back toward her bedroom, sighing softly.

"If I have to put up with them for too much longer," she muttered, her door shutting behind her, "I'm going to make them wander around this house with their shirts off. I should at least get eye candy out of letting them laze about," she flopped onto her stomach on her bed, staring at her wall. "Wait...wasn't Nagato cooking?" She sprang up, eyes widening. She darted out of her bedroom and into the kitchen in a half panic.

"Ye-what are you looking for?" Nagato took the lasagna out of the oven and put the other one in. He had three of the frozen family sized dinners.

"You bought those? And there will be no evidence that they were here?" Her heart fluttered like a frightened caged bird. They'd only been around for less than twenty-four hours, and already she was certain she was going to get caught with them. 'Reminds me of hiding kittens,' she thought, slightly amused.

"We're not broke. And it's easy to get our money changed for yours," Nagato smiled slightly and Amelia relaxed, leaning back against the wall.

"Thank goodness," she shut her eyes for a moment and then headed back to her bedroom. She needed a break.

**A/N:** Annnd there's you chapter two! :D I'm enjoying this. Greatly. I thought on this one all day long, in fact. It started out with Click Click Boom coming on the radio this morning, and then it just kind of went from there. Yes, I realize that they're all out of character. . But this is kind of AU, and if I had it go with them being in character, well...this would have been over in the prologue when she woke up the second time.  
_Word Count:_ 1,171  
Time Spent: …I don't even know…


	4. Chapter Three

Disclaimer: Nibi-Nekomata is an eighteen year old American girl - she does not own Naruto, never has, and never will. This is a purely fictional story. Amelia is her own OC, however, and is based upon her vaguely. Any likeness to other persons living or dead or fictitious is purely coincidental and no copyright infringement is intended. Thank you! See you at the bottom, ladies and gentlemen!

**Who Needs Sleep****  
**

Amelia jerked awake into pitch-black silence. Her eyes searched her bedroom for a few moments in which the only thing she was aware of was that she wasn't breathing and her heart was pounding. She began to relax, uncertain as to what had awoken her and startled her so badly. She turned her head to look at the lime green numerals on her clock and sighed. It was three thirty. Her parents were at work by then, and her mom would be back before six. 'Bad dream, then,' she thought, flopping down onto her pillows and shutting her eyes.

_Tink_! "Amelia?" She jerked upright in bed, eyes flying wide. She almost pushed it off as her imagination, but the sound came again. "Amelia!" She rolled over onto her stomach and then sat up on her knees, lifting the shade over the window directly behind her bed. Standing in the flowerbed with her face pressed to the glass was one of Amelia's two best friends.

"Kate...it's three thirty in the morning...what are you doing here?" She shivered slightly. Four hours of sleep was all she had gotten so far, with her parents coming home late and her having to 'put out the cats.'

"I know! But we're going up to Scott's house and - you won't come, will you?" Amelia frowned.

"It's three thirty in the morning, Kate," she repeated. Her window was closed, but the glass was thin enough so that the two could hear each other perfectly fine.

"But it's _Scott_, Amelia!" Part of the older girl's mind told her to ask if Scott would be wandering around shirtless showing off a ripped body, but the more sane part told her she would get an odd look for that. Scott was far from ripped, or even slightly muscled. "Earth to Amelia! We'd like you back down out of the clouds, hon!" Amelia blinked, snapping her mouth shut; she had been daydreaming and was sure she might have almost started to drool.

"Wha-no! Kate, I can't. Mom'll be back before six, and honestly, I didn't go to bed until she and Dad got home late last night. I'm surprised Mom didn't get me up with her," actually she was sure her mother _had_ tried to wake her up, and then given up. Amelia could sleep like the dead when she was really tired.

"Oh come _on_! You never do anything out of the ordinary!" Amelia reached her hand behind her back and touched the spot below her shoulder blades that had been black and blue just a few hours ago.

"No, I don't. And my parents like it that way. Now can I go back to sleep? I have to be up at seven, and I'd like a little more than four hours of sleep," Kate frowned.

"Fine. By the way, I think I saw someone sulking around in your backyard..." Kate frowned slightly and Amelia sighed.

"Probably just a trick of the light, Kate. Have fun," she waved at her friend and then dropped the shade back into place, eye twitching. Really? _Really_?! She dropped back into her bed and shut her eyes, sighing. If one of them was that stupid, let them get caught by the police. They'd have fun getting their 'wig' yanked off their head, anyway.

Amelia was just on the edge of sleep when "Amelia?" sounded from right next to her. She jumped about six inches off her bed, letting out a muffled shriek. She knew the voice by heart, but that changed nothing. It still scared her half to death.

"Good God! What do you want, Kakuzu?!" That was probably why she had almost screamed. Out of the five, Kakuzu had to be the one she trusted the least. She pulled her covers up over her body self-consciously. She had seen the way all five of them had appraised her. How could Konan have lived with the likes of them? Oh, right. She hadn't.

"We're going to get clothes. What's the cheapest place around here that makes something decent?" Amelia shivered, unable to help herself. This was creepy and uncool and - she almost wished they were dead.

'Hey, jokes on you, Ames, they _are_ dead,' she thought, not amused with herself. "Wal-Mart," she pointed vaguely in the direction of it and settled back down, watching as the man left her room. She shut her eyes and was just about to fall asleep when a thought struck her: How had Kakuzu gotten in, and had she really just sent one or all five of them to Wal-Mart?

"Not the oddest customers they'll ever get," she muttered, sliding out of bed and taking a quick patrol of the house to check the three doors that could allow someone in. All of them were locked, and all of the windows were shut. "How...what...I'm dreaming. That's it," she turned and went back to her room, curling back up in bed.

"Yes Mom, I understand. I will not open the door for _anybody_," she smiled sweetly at her mother. Apparently there was a gang roaming the streets dressed in black cloaks with red clouds on them. They had been spotted walking to Wal-Mart, and inside of Wal-Mart. The five had managed to not get any facial recognition, however, because of the weird hats that they wore. And Amelia's mother was making it very obvious she didn't want her daughter to let anyone who looked like that in.

"See you later," she waved as her mom and dad left, taking her father to the airport. He was going out of state for business. Amelia had about six hours, at least, to herself.

"I'm going to tie them up so they don't do anything else stupid at three in the morning," she muttered, storming around the side of the house. "Yoo-hoo! Hoodlums!" The only one who actually responded to that was Deidara. "Well there's one," she mused, skipping toward the fence.

"Hoodlums?" Deidara questioned once she had gotten closer.

"Yep! You five were spotted walking down the street in your cloaks, as well as in Wal-Mart. Good going. You are not a gang of hoodlums," she smiled brightly.

"...these people are not that bright," Nagato stated, leaning against the roll up door of the barn.

"Nope! But that's what you get living around here. So the new plan is: You don't go out in your cloaks. Ever," not that she would complain too loudly if they did. Even Kakuzu looked better than half the guys she was going to school with, scary as that was. "It's a good thing you have normal people clothes now," civilian still didn't exactly sound right to her ears. It made her think of karate or the Military. Certainly not S-Ranked zombie ninja's.

Her mind began to wander again.

"Amelia? Are you even listening?" She blinked, finding herself almost nose to nose with Sasori. She jumped backward, tripping over her own two feet. She was caught by chakra strings, which almost freaked her out even more.

"Well now I am," she stated once Sasori had released her. She stepped back more carefully, crossing her arms and tilting her head.

"I said: Do you really expect us to get jobs here," Amelia blinked. When had she...oh right!

"We-ell, yeah. How else am I going to keep you away from here? You'll be able to rent an apartment and get out of my hair and cause mass destruction outside of the state!" She clapped her hands and gave a little bounce. All five of them stared at her like she had grown two heads. "Oh who am I kidding. I really don't think anyone would hire you. Hair's too long, not people orientated...Nagato might stand a chance, except for his eyes. Funny colored contacts," she flicked her eyes skyward and huffed.

"There's nothing wrong with my eyes," the man growled.

"I know, I know, but an employer would say that they were funny colored contacts," she had intentionally skirted that Itachi was considered half blind (or at least portrayed as half blind by ninety percent of the fan community) simply on the basis that, in theory, that would get him a job. Equal opportunity and all. "But you can't just live behind the barn. I'm sorry, but someone will notice, and I'm not sure how much longer this string of good luck of my parents not being home is going to last," she twirled a stand of hair and sighed, turning and heading back toward the house.

"You're leaving us out like strays again?" She looked back over her shoulder, sighing again.

"No. Not really. I just kind of expect you to know that you can come in when both of my parents are gone," she stated, continuing to drag her feet slightly. 'I really deserve the eye candy. At least Deidara's shirt is tight,' she smiled slightly. That was uplifting. Fan service for her and her alone, right? Right! She started to skip again, mood shifting completely. "Oh! And today I think I'll show you one of my favorite things about the internet! It's called fanfiction!" She grinned wickedly. Payback was sweet.

**A/N:** Payback is also painful, Amelia. Especially when you discover that you're logged in and it's a fiction you wrote. But that's a bit of a spoiler for what I have planned for chapter four. xD Anyway, lots of love goes out to Akane on another site for reading this, grammatical errors and all. I'm not sure how long this is compared to the rest, but the title has little to nothing to do with the chapter. . Well, I mean, I guess it does, but...meh. Whatever. This is what happens when I slack off. It probably skips around a lot and needs to be tidied up, but I can't think of anything to change about it.  
_Word Count:_ 1,528  
Time: 45 minutes.


	5. Chapter Four

Disclaimer: Nibi-Nekomata is an eighteen year old American girl - she does not own Naruto, never has, and never will. This is a purely fictional story. Amelia is her own OC, however, and is based upon her vaguely. Any likeness to other persons living or dead or fictitious is purely coincidental and no copyright infringement is intended. Thank you! See you at the bottom, ladies and gentlemen!  
Also, shameless advertising for "We're All Dogs Here" which I need to rewrite, update, and get going. Eheh.

**Unexpected (Expected) Reactions****  
**

Amelia flounced into the cool house, the air conditioner purring in the window. She hummed happily, grabbing the rolling chair and pulling it up to her father's computer. The five males entered the room and tossed their cloaks onto the couch (Amelia made a mental note to hide them somewhere) before moving to various places. None of them seemed to want to be too close to the other. 'They're getting tired of each other already? Oh, well this should solve that,' Amelia's fingers skittered across the keys as she pulled up two tabs. The first directed itself to her favorite fanfiction site, and the second to her favorite art site. She'd hold off on the fan art. She liked her head on her shoulders, thank you very much. "Alright, gather round!" She chirped. She had pulled up one of her favorite fictions. It was a favorite for various reasons. One, she had written it, and two, it was her take on the 'Akatsuki become kittens/puppies' fling. She had enjoyed writing it, not to mention that her main character had managed to seduce Deidara.

The five males started reading while Amelia held the mouse, ready to scroll when she needed to. "This is ridiculous. How would we get turned into _dogs_?" Amelia rolled her eyes at Nagato's words.

"It's fiction," she said, eyes flicking across the page. She let her eyes skip across the author and then to the section that should have said 'sign in.' Instead it had her pen name up. 'Oops...well, it's not like they'll notice,' she thought, scrolling down and then going to the next chapter as she was told to.

"What?!" Deidara let out a yelp of shock, stepping back from the screen. Sasori snorted.

"This does not hold to facts," the red head stated, turning and walking away. The fiction had stated something that always brought Amelia into a giggle fit (it had been no better when she had typed it), but it appeared that Sasori nor Deidara much liked it.

"It's not supposed to," she said between gasps for breath. Itachi rolled his eyes and backed up. Amelia went to close out when Kakuzu spoke up.

"Hey, why is that name and that name the same?" Kakuzu was smirking. Amelia blinked innocently.

"I have no idea," the female started to close the window, but Kakuzu seemed to have attracted everyone's attention.

"Hey, that is the same name...click on it. I want to find out who's being an idiot," Sasori had returned and his voice was slightly a growl. Amelia tried not to shiver as she clicked on the link. It took her directly to her account settings. "..." Sasori turned his head to look at the girl who continued to feign innocence.

"What?" She was suddenly very aware of five pairs of eyes staring her down. "...you didn't even get to the worst part?" She tried, sinking down in the chair. "Er...I'm in a hole, aren't I?" She felt herself starting to blush, partially panicked now. How dead was she?

"Worst...part?" Deidara's eye appeared to be twitching.

"I'm not going to show you. I'll show what other people do though, and they're a lot worse than I am!" She chirped out, trying to find a foothold in the hole she was currently in.

"I don't think that's possible," Sasori snarled. Amelia's heart fluttered in panic.

"Yes it is! There's fanart of you and Deidara!" She blinked rapidly, realizing, possibly a little too late, what she had just said.

"There's what of me and the brat?" Amelia swallowed, feeling her skin prickle.

"Er..." she typed quickly and shut her eyes, hitting enter. 'Please don't be anything awful, I like living,' she thought, opening one eye. She let out a small sigh. "And this isn't even that bad," she said, slightly smug as she pointed her cursor over two of the pictures. Deidara staggered back to the couch and sat down, hiding his face.

"It's not that bad, yeah?!" He wailed, obviously not knowing what worse things lay in wait beyond the first page.

"N...no...I can show you something bad...Itachi...you should cover your eyes," she was suddenly very, _very_ aware that she was surrounded by S-Rank criminals. "O...or I can just find something with Nagato and Konan," she said hastily, not liking the look on Itachi's face.

"No," Nagato reached over, grabbed the mouse (as well as Amelia's hand), and closed the window, turning and walking away. The room was electrically charged and the teenage girl was suddenly very nervous to escape.

"I'll...uh...be in my room," she chirped, making a dash for the hallway.

"G-"

"Let her go, Sasori. She didn't draw that. Though I almost wish she would have," Kakuzu muttered, smirking slightly. Sasori turned and stalked outside, his patience gone. Amelia had locked herself in her room and was sitting with her back against her door, shaking slightly from suppressed laughter. "You can come out now, the dangerous one is outside," Kakuzu said, sounding more than just a little amused from the other side of the door.

Amelia let out a sigh and pulled out a twenty, opening the door and handing it to the man. "Thanks," she said trotting back into the living room.

"After what I saw, it was my pleasure," he went into the dining room and Amelia dropped onto the other end of the couch from Deidara, flipping on the TV.

"You deserved it," she said matter of factly, shooting the embarrassed nineteen year old a glare.

"For what?" He muttered, addressing the floor.

"Payback for throwing me across the yard."

"Did it have to be with Danna?"

"It was him or Itachi," Amelia smiled her 'cat that got the cream' smile and Deidara groaned. "You'd prefer Sasori-chan, right?"

Needless to say Amelia spent the rest of the time her mom was gone flitting between Nagato, Itachi, and Kakuzu. She dropped snide remarks anytime she could, though, which did not help her case.

"Alright! All cats out of the house!" Amelia chirped, standing by the front door. Her mother had called and told her she was about a half hour away from home. The four men inside dragged themselves out into the heat and Amelia shut and locked the door behind them.

"Cats are out, torture is done. I am now free to flop out an-...Sasori's cloak is still on the couch," Amelia stared at the black and red cloak, half expecting it to burst into flames. When it didn't she picked it up and carried it to her room, tossing it into her closet. "Eh. He'll live," she flopped down on her bed, humming.

"Amelia! I'm back! Anything happen while I was gone?" The girl slipped off her bed and trotted into the living room.

"Nope! Just did a little writing," she did a little twirl and then flashed her mother a peace sign before darting back to her room. She had seen a red head outside of the living room window.

_Tink tink tink tink_ It was like hail was raining down on her window. Amelia frowned and edged toward it, biting her lip. She lifted the shade and frowned at the red head who was glaring at her. "What?" She hissed, returning his glare.

"My cloak," the reply was almost too soft to hear over the air conditioner running next to her.

"Why'd you leave it inside?" She was very much aware that the only thing between her and death was the glass of the window.

"I haven't been back inside, you little snot," he spat, glaring at her through the window.

"And why not?" She bit back, sliding off the bed and grabbing the cloak from her closet. She wrapped it up tightly around her arm and grabbed her iPod, cursing herself as she made her way to the door. "I'm going outside, Mom!" She sang, hating herself.

"Alright," was the reply.

Amelia stepped out onto the front porch and made it around to the side of the house before she found herself pinned up against anything (this just so happened to be the wobbly fence). "Here," she snapped, shoving the cloak between herself and the God only knows how old (okay, thirty some odd year old) man in front of her.

She got silence as a reply as he yanked the cloak away from her and stalked off. "You're welcome," she muttered, sulking across the yard. They'd have to put with her wonderful (in)ability to sing now.

**A/N:** I'm amused by the good bit of 'I'm going to kill her' coming from Sasori now. And Deidara. I think I'll try to focus on Kakuzu and Nagato in the next chapter. If I can come up with something. Maybe they'll get a job...hmm...I started this at 1:39 and didn't finish it until about 4:30. . I was getting distracted. I finally just cut it off. It rambles a bit, and for that I am really, really sorry.  
_Word Count:_ 1,412  
Time: 2 hours and 51 minutes.


	6. Chapter Five

Disclaimer: Nibi-Nekomata is an eighteen year old American girl - she does not own Naruto, never has, and never will. This is a purely fictional story. Amelia is her own OC, however, and is based upon her vaguely. Any likeness to other persons living or dead or fictitious is purely coincidental and no copyright infringement is intended. Thank you! See you at the bottom, ladies and gentlemen!

**Air Time!**

Amelia was not pleased the next morning when she woke up. The house was empty and her mother had left her a note about how she was going out for 'a while.' "If I would have said that my mom would be one to take random trips before now, I would have been lying. Now, however...what, is she under some sort of genjutsu?" She frowned slightly, finding a pair of shorts and a t-shirt to put on.

Half way through getting dressed there was a knock on the bedroom door. "Who is it, what do you want, and do I need to arm myself with my lamp?" She tugged her shirt down and turned around, crossing to the locked door.

"Open the door, Amelia," Nagato didn't sound as entertained by what the teenager had said as she was.

"Oh, sigh. Fine," she opened the door and found herself appraising the older man. Huh. He apparently cleaned up pretty good. "What are you planning?" She asked, eyes narrowing. She had finally caved and allowed the five to use the showers in the house (after they had used more of their money to buy the needed shower supplies of course), but she hadn't seen the dressier clothes that Nagato currently had on.

"I'm planning on getting a job. We need the money. Do you mind...driving?" Amelia stepped back from the man, eyes widening comically.

"D...driving? Alone? With a strange man? Oh the _horror_!" Her sarcastic nature was showing. And Nagato didn't seem to like it. At all. "Sorry. I'll drive. Hang on, let me brush my hair," the girl turned back to her dresser and heard the male's voice drift back to her bedroom.

"She said she'll drive. You'd better not freak her out. I don't exactly trust her. She's a kid after all," Amelia put the brush down and grabbed her purse off the back of her doorknob, pulling out her car keys.

"Hey, I'm a good driver for a kid," she said, slipping into the living room and keeping away from Sasori. The daggers he was glaring at her made her highly uncomfortable. "O-kay...uhm..don't break anything while I'm gone, don't let the cats out, don't hurt the animals, don't se-set the house on fire," she lost steam for a moment because of how heated the glare from Sasori was getting. She wasn't even looking at him! Well... "And...just...don't do anything that will get my into trouble. Let'sgoNagato," she hurried out the door and ran up to the car, getting in and putting her forehead against the steering wheel. "If someone would have told me," she muttered.

"Told you what?" Itachi's voice was smooth and cold, and was right behind her. She jumped, startled. She hadn't even heard the door open. She let out a small 'eep' and straightened up, pulling the seat forward.

"That I'd be driving the three of you around, I'd have cleaned up the car...are you really leaving those two here alone?" Her voice faded off to a bit of a squeak as she glanced sideways at Nagato and then into the rear view mirror at Kakuzu and Itachi.

"They won't do anything. And if they do, I'll handle them," Nagato assured. Amelia nodded, frowning a bit as she put the car into reverse. She didn't know exactly where to start, but since the three weren't in jeans and t-shirts, she figured she could drop them anywhere. She started at the local grocery stores and then worked her way out, not wanting to go too far in any direction.

"How far are you willing to walk?" She asked after Nagato had gotten into the car once more with three more applications.

"Tch. Farther than what you've taken us," Kakuzu muttered. Amelia had helped all three of them fill out the first applications, even going so far as to walk in with them the first time with a patronized look on her face. The conversation had been pretty humorous.

"Excuse me, are you accepting applications?" Amelia stood in front of the counter, hands laced behind her back with the three adults standing behind her rather awkwardly.

"Erm, yes, but you're a little young to be applying," the lady said, though she did offer a kind smile to the strawberry blonde.

"Oh, no, I'm not applying, you see, my brothers are a little shy, and though they've gone through college, they still don't know how to pick up an application. I've tried to tell them that no one in the stores bite," Amelia sighed theatrically.

"Those three are your brothers?" The woman's voice dropped and Amelia felt a faint surge of annoyance at her.

"Yes ma'am, they are. Could they get applications?" Amelia looked up at the woman who twittered and gathered up three of them, taking care to personally hand Itachi his.

"There you are, hon. I hope your brother's get a job here...I'd like helping make them a little warmer," Amelia smiled sweetly.

"I'm sure their girlfriend's would appreciate it," the woman's flirtatious smile dropped and her eyes jerked back to Amelia.

"They're taken?"

"Of course!" Amelia laughed, shaking her head. "But you aren't the first who's thought otherwise. Thank you," the girl ushered them back out to the car spitting fire at any other female who even looked toward her 'brothers.'

After that little mistake on their part, each of them took turns going in and getting applications. People responded best to Nagato and Itachi (the latter because he was drop dead hot and the former because he knew how to conduct himself), but they didn't refuse Kakuzu either. He was, after all, rather imposing.

Amelia stopped at a red light, turning the music up slightly as one of her favorite songs started to play. "What is _this_?" Itachi asked, leaning forward and turning the volume back down.

"It's Nickelback," the girl said, pulling into another parking lot. "And I happen to like it," she turned it back up and the raven haired man scoffed, getting out of the car. "Scoff all you want, but it's good dancing music," and then she proceeded to make a fool out of herself in front of Nagato and Kakuzu.

"You do realize we're still in here, right?" Nagato questioned the girl.

"Is your little sister embarrassing you?" She grinned and returned to dancing around in her seat.

"If I say yes, will you let me out?" Kakuzu asked from behind Nagato.

"Nope!" The girl laughed and turned down the radio, glancing at the clock. "We need to get back. Like. Now," she said, eyes widening a little. It wasn't like her mother was home yet (she would have already called and had a spasm), but they'd been gone for three hours.

"Alright, I think tha-Hey!" As soon as Itachi had shut the door, Amelia had thrown the car into drive and all but peeled out. She'd need to fill the car back up the next time her mother was gone, she noted, seeing that it was now at half a tank, but that would definitely be possible.

"Expecting your mother?" She shot Kakuzu a glare in the rear view, turning off of the highway and onto the back road. She was a safe driver, mostly, but if she was in a hurry, hold on tight.

"Ame-...you missed the squirrel," Nagato noted, looking back at the probably frightened animal sitting on the edge of the road.

"I always miss animals," Amelia shot back, turning down the final road to home. She felt as though she was going to see smoke and fire, but there was none of that. The car was parked carefully where it had been and she slipped out, running down into the 'ditch' to her front door. 'Please don't have broken anything, please don't have broken anything, ple-' she opened the door and blinked, taking a step back. She inhaled and let out a screech. "I KNEW IT!"

The two males had been curled up on the couch, asleep, until the girl had screeched. Now they jumped about ten feet apart looking like that poor squirrel Amelia had almost hit. "What the - brat!" Amelia tossed her head, glaring down her nose at the two of them.

"I'm not the brat, I'm the snot. Your little cuddle buddy's the brat," a moment later she was pinned (she thought 'why me? why my big mouth?' as she tried to prevent her back from slamming too hard into the wall) against the wall by Deidara, who was glaring down at her. "Eep," she squeaked, realizing she had nowhere to go.

"Don't," the one word was a barely audible hiss, but the girl knew what it meant. Say something again and she'd better be sleeping with a knife or something, because if not, she'd find herself sleeping with the fishes.

"Kay..." she was released and the blond was the one who stalked outside this time. Sasori rolled his eyes. "I'm going back to my room...get out before Mom gets home," she slunk off like a kicked puppy. A few minutes later someone knocked.

"If you're going to slam me into something and snap at me, wait until tomorrow," she said. She was sitting at her computer, glaring sideways at the door.

"Not going to slam you into a wall, Amelia," Nagato's voice issued through the door and the female sighed.

"Then you may enter," she flicked across a website aimlessly, not even paying much attention to what she was looking at.

"You should really avoid ticking them off," Nagato said, leaning against the girl's chair.

"I know. But even more so I should get all of you out of here. Before Dad gets back," she clicked to another tab, frowning slightly. She scrolled through the fanfic she had been reading and felt anger at herself prickle up. "God I'm so stupid! This isn't like in these stupid stories with the Mary-Sue's and the lack of conflict. You'd all kill me if you got even half a chance!" She slumped down in her seat, shutting her eyes.

"No. We had half a chance that first night," the older male patted her on the head. "Besides, if we killed you, we'd be found out, and it doesn't look like it'd be a good thing for us to kill our sister," Amelia opened one eye to see the man smiling.

"I think I needed that more than I needed a good kick in the backside," she said, sitting up again.

"I'm going to find something to cook for lunch. Are you going to eat with us?"

"Am I going to find myself against another wall?" Her back was sore again, and if it decided to bruise she didn't have Sasori to fix it since he was still so mad at her.

"No. Unless you make Kakuzu mad," the male rolled his eyes.

"Oh hey, that's easy. I just have to make sure he can't find his money," it was a jibe from other authors that she knew, and she laughed a little as the man shook his head and walked out, closing the door. The female's smile faded and she glared at the screen. "Mary-Sue's, meet your worst nightmare," she muttered, pulling up a new Word document. "And here come the flames," she grinned, fingers skittering across the keyboard as she started to hum again.

**A/N:** Ouch! Hopefully this little loud mouth has learned her lesson. The chapter title might change to "Flames" later on, but I'm not sure just yet. Hopefully there will be no more impromptu wall or fence visits with Amelia's back. Fanart is the evil and demonic thing that is the bane of some people's existence. It doesn't help that Sasori was already ticked off in the last chapter, though. The art just kind of added the icing to the cake. Hopefully this gives at least a little love to the three I've been 'leaving out like alley cats.' And before you ask, Deidara's head was on Sasori's lap, and the puppet was laying back in one of the couch seats. I'll maybe one day get around to writing a one shot about what happened while the cats were away (and it'll probably be entitled "The Mice Will Play" or something else corny like that).  
_Word Count:_ 1,892  
Time: God only knows.


	7. Chapter Six

Disclaimer: Nibi-Nekomata is an eighteen year old American girl - she does not own Naruto, never has, and never will. This is a purely fictional story. Amelia is her own OC, however, and is based upon her vaguely. Any likeness to other persons living or dead or fictitious is purely coincidental and no copyright infringement is intended. Thank you! See you at the bottom, ladies and gentlemen!

**Plans Change**

Amelia's mother had been home all day for two days now. Amelia had been forced to stay outside for large chunks of the day because of this. Of course, she was also doing her best during those two days to avoid Deidara and Sasori. When Nagato and Kakuzu and Itachi left to return their applications, the female had decided it was time to go inside and hide.

The second day, which was actually the current day, just earlier, the girl had watched as Nagato left her with the other four. "You're not seriously leaving me here alone with them, are you? If you come back and can't find me, you know what happened, right?" She knew she could just go inside and hide, but really, where was the fun in that? Or at least how did it help anything.

"Just don't do anything stupid, Amelia," the man stated, frowning slightly at the girl.

"I don't try to..." she muttered, crossing her arms and stalking back to the bench swing.

That had been two hours before Kakuzu got a call back, leaving the girl with the three apparent youngest members. This trio also happened to be comprised of the two men who would gladly kill her and Itachi, which was of no comfort, and then Itachi had gotten called away without Amelia noticing.

For another hour she had been content with dashing back and forth across the yard, dancing like an idiot and singing without really caring who's ears she was making bleed. And then that came crashing to a halt when she landed wrong from a jump and discovered that she _should_ have been on the ground. Only she wasn't.

Startled, even when the chakra strings were removed after she had apparently regained her balance, the female still fell onto the ground, only with a lot less momentum. She let out a yelp half comprised of shock and confusion. "Ow," she muttered, pushing herself up and glaring half-heartedly at her ankle, which she assumed had been the cause of her fall. She had twisted it before, and it gave her a lot of trouble.

"What, no thank you?" Sarcasm dripped off the poison laced voice and Amelia froze in place, eyes widening.

"Th-thank you?" She stuttered, forcing herself to move now.

"It's not a question, girl," Amelia frowned, setting her eyes on her house now. The music had stopped and she pulled the earphones out of her ears, not wanting Sasori's voice to be muffled. How close was he to her back? What weapons did he still have installed?

"Sorry," she muttered softly, "thank you for not letting me break my ankle," she glared at the house, still moving toward it and trying not to break into a run. Where was Itachi? Wasn't he supposed to be keeping these two off of her?

"If you think Itachi's going to save you, he's gone," she could hear the smirk in his voice and it sent ice down her spine.

"Wh-my mom's here, it doesn't matter if he isn't. You'll blow your own cover," she had made it out of the fence now and was aware of how she was being shadowed.

"We can still sneak in without her knowing. Besides, it's hot out here, girl. Do you want us to die again?" Her lips pursed together and she bit back the 'yes!' that danced just on her tongue.

"Of course not. That'd be cruel of me to want that," she bounded up onto the porch and spun around, glaring at the brown eyed male. "Now why don't you go back around the house. I'm sure it's cooler in the shade without your cloak on then it is standing in the sunlight with it on," she spun around and reached for the door, annoyed when her arm stopped midway. "Or we can play this game," she said as she was forced to turn around. "Do you want me to apologize? Because if you do, then you can stop holding your breath - oh, wait! You can't hold your breath. You don't have lungs," she found that she was snarling at the man and that he appeared slightly taken aback (again, it was hard for her to tell exactly; Sasori had two moods that Amelia could easily discern - bored and annoyed with everyone and ticked off beyond belief) by her sudden shift from docile to snappy.

"I'd prefer if you were the one holding your breath," he growled. The female narrowed her eyes on him.

"Well I'd prefer if you dropped dead, but it appears neither of us are going to get what we want, so let's come to a compromise. I'll leave you and your brat alone, you and your brat leave me alone, and we coexist in the same area until the other three earn enough money to rent an apartment. This shouldn't take that long. Then you'll all be out of my hair and I'll be out of your hair, and we won't have to be at each other's throats, sound good?" She spun away and stalked back up to the door. At some point, probably right after he had dragged her down, the man had released her. But she had remained within five inches of the highly dangerous male.

"I thought you said you didn't want us to die," he snapped at her back as she grabbed the handle. Her head turned around and her green eyes showed that she was holding back something akin to malice.

"Plural, no. Singular? Drop. Dead," she opened the door and stormed inside. Her mother was thankfully on her computer. The girl went into her room, shut her door softly, and then pitched herself face down onto her bed and burst into tears.

"-lia, wake up," the voice was oddly soft and gentle. For a moment the girl was confused, blinking away sleep and tears. She looked first at the glowing numerals on her clock, seeing that it was around two in the morning, and secondly she noted that it was not her mother who had woke her up, which made her jump about two feet sideways so that she slammed _herself_ into the wall. The bruise that she had been given twinged as it hit the wall and she snapped her eyes shut, forcing herself to breathe and calm down.

"S-sorry Nagato..." she finally muttered. No, not two in the morning. The sun was up. She had mistaken the five for a two at first glance. She'd been curled up for almost three hours.

"Sasori tells me that you told him to drop dead," there was actually something similar to amusement in the man's eyes.

"Well...he...and..." she frowned and dropped her head.

"I told you not to antagonize them," Amelia flicked her eyes up, frown still in place.

"He didn't have to stop me from falling," she said, settling herself back fully onto her bed and crossing her arms.

"But he did. That's twice now that he's stopped being self centered and helped you. And you've managed to make an enemy out of him. And Deidara," Amelia sighed.

"Well, that's two out of five. But I didn't say anything untrue to him. You'll all be gone in the next...two weeks at most," she picked up the teddy bear that she had been sleeping with and plucked at the fur on it, not wanting to look up.

"We can be gone sooner, if you'd like," for a moment the girl seemed unable to decide.

"Dad will be home soon...Saturday...it'd be best if you were all gone by Friday," he had left on a Friday, and it was now Wednesday.

"That's plenty of time," the man stood up and left the room, leaving the girl to fall back on her bed and stare at her ceiling.

"And to think this all started off so well..." she rolled over onto her side, staring at her wall. "Why can't this be like a poorly written fiction, or something? Why is it so...GAH!" She jumped as something touched her arm, startling her bad enough so that she slipped sideways between her bed and the wall.

When she pulled herself back up, scowling, it was to see Kakuzu half doubled over and gasping for breath from laughing. "You, sir, are a class A example of a complete and total mule," she pulled herself out of the hole and sat cross legged on her bed, scowling slightly.

"And you're the one who's throwing us out after tomorrow," the man stated, having gathered himself once more.

"I don't have a choice," was her reply as she picked up her bear and began to pick at it again. She didn't want to throw them out, heavens no. But when your options come down to throwing the S Rank criminals out or being killed by them, well, the option is clear.

"Everyone has a choice, girly," Kakuzu said. Her eye twitched slightly but she still didn't look up.

"Not with you people. It's this or death, I think, and I happen to like living."

"So did we," the man muttered. This brought her eyes up and then they snapped back down. She bit her lip as he left her room.

"But...you're not dead here," she said softly, spinning her bear in her hands. "You're all alive...and just as dangerous..." she sighed, slipping off of her bed and going to feed her dogs. Her mood did not improve the rest of the night, though her parents simply attributed it to her friends online. They were usually a source of angst for the girl, after all.

**A/N: **Heheh~ I figured it was time to be reminded that these are not fluffy bunnies or kittens or puppies, but real live (evil!) human beings.  
I had to alter the second part because I didn't like the way I was initially taking it. I like this one much better. I'm thinking this might end up just being a seven or eight chapter fiction, since it appears like we're reaching the end.  
_Word Count:_ 1,603  
Time: About an hour.


	8. Chapter SevenEpilogue

Disclaimer: Nibi-Nekomata is an eighteen year old American girl - she does not own Naruto, never has, and never will. This is a purely fictional story. Amelia is her own OC, however, and is based upon her vaguely. Any likeness to other persons living or dead or fictitious is purely coincidental and no copyright infringement is intended. Thank you! See you at the bottom, ladies and gentlemen!

**Must Have Been A Dream**

Amelia was sprawled out in the side yard, smiling and looking up at the leaves swaying on the tree above her. They were gone. Her smile faded at that thought and then flickered back for a moment. She should have been ecstatic that Nagato had kept to his word, but she wasn't. "Because two of my three favorite members hate me?" She asked the breeze and sky. She sat up, stretching and looking back at the barn. "You could pass it off as a dream, you know," she muttered to herself, standing up.

The slight frown on her lips persisted as she went back inside. Her mother was off getting her father. She had filled the car back up. Now she was utterly alone in the house, aside from the dogs and cats.

The female dropped into her chair, sighing as she looked at her computer monitor. She stared at the words that were typed on the screen. "Happily ever after?" She asked the computer, staring at what she had typed. "Just a joke," she sighed, closing the Word document. She hadn't even meant to go so far with what she had been writing, but her mind had gone away with her, willing her to right her own wrongs through her writing. "I know better, though," she stood up again, stalking through the house before she finally went back to her room and threw herself face down into her pillows.

"I'm. A. Total. Idiot," she finally grumbled, folding her arms under her head. "Nagato promised they'd be out of state by morning. Well, guess what, Kitten?" She stared at the clock. It was three in the afternoon. They where long gone. "I almost...no, no I don't, because if I did it would end the same exact way. Well...probably. I wouldn't keep my mouth shut," she sat up again, looking around her room and then slipping back outside.

Five minutes later found the girl sitting behind the barn, staring at a note and a little box. "Pinch me, I'm definitely still dreaming," she said, looking around as though someone might actually do just that. When no one appeared, she opened the box. It had her name on it, after all. Inside was one of those cheap-o bracelets from the mall. The kind that doesn't stay clasped or anything. "Right...because I'm just this fantastic," she stared at the item. "No, wait...it's a cheap-o charm bracelet," she looked down into the box, and, sure enough, there were five charms, just like the note promised. "And to think I didn't expect them to all buy me one," she rolled her eyes. "I bet Nagato bought the ones from Sasori-kun and Deidara-kun," she frowned, picking up each charm in turn.

There was a weasel, a scorpion, what appeared to be either a tear or a drop of water, the letter N, and a Kanji symbol. Amelia clipped on the charms, shaking her head, and then put the bracelet around her wrist. "Alright, well, they didn't get found here. They didn't kill me, they're g...gone..." She stared at the bracelet and then took it off, putting it back in the box and putting the note, once she had folded it, over it. On the back was what looked like directions. "Very funny. I don't want to find you weirdos," she flinched, jerking back against the metal building reflexively. No one tried to pin her against the building. The woods were silent. The yard was silent. Even the birds were silent. "Or maybe I'm a total liar," she muttered. Then she shook her head and went back inside. "Gone like the wind. Or with it. Either way, they're gone. Out of my hair. And I'm out of theirs..." she bit her lip, holding the box over the trashcan. Should she? "I don't want any of you to drop dead," she sighed, pulling the box back to her and going back to her room. "But I can't have you here," she flopped down, staring at the plain blue box.

Eventually she dozed off, wishing hopelessly that she could at least apologize. "I'm sorry," she breathed as she fell asleep. When she woke up the next morning she started to tell herself that it had all been a hopelessly wonderful dream, and that was it.

**A/N:** Aww! Nagato _made_ them buy a bracelet. Ungodly sappy ending? Ohyes. This was a half hour in writing. . So, sorry if it sounds rushed or just horrible. But I'm done for now! Though Akane gave me the lovely idea of a sequel that is oh, oh so tempting...and I have started work on it.  
_Word Count:_ 716  
Time: Who knows!


End file.
